Eater’s Dining on a Dime already covered one Montreal staple in the form of bagels, and now it’s time to move on to another classic: poutine.
Host Lucas Peterson drops by Chez Tousignant, on the edge of Little Italy and La-Petite-Patrie, a modern take on the classic Quebec casse-croûte, courtesy of owners Michele Forgione and Stefano Faita (see also: Impasto and Pizzeria Gema, just a few blocks away). He grabs a hefty “Big Mike” burger on a potato bun (baked in-house), and a classic hot dog and poutine, learning that the correct pronunciation is “poot-ihn” — not “poot-een”, and definitely not “poot-ayn”.
And while outside of Canada’s borders, poutine might be billed as being a generally Canadian dish, Forgione points out that Quebec specifically is its birthplace, and the best place to get it.
“Maybe in Vancouver they’re gonna come very close to it, but this is the birthplace. It comes from Quebec.”
Dining on a Dime will release Montreal episodes weekly until late September — click here to watch all previous episodes.